Mayor off target on affordable housing for London, new report claims

London needs 66,000 new homes each year but nowhere near enough are being built, particularly when it comes to affordable properties, a new report claims.

In recent year nothing like the needed capacity has ever been delivered with just 41,371 new homes added to London’s housing stock in 2016/2017, according to the report published b the London Assembly Housing Committee.

It also points out that less than 5,500 affordable homes were completed in 2017/2018, compared with an average of over 10,000 per year in the last decade.

Almost half of London’s need is for social rent, but only 14% of all home starts so far in this Mayoral term are for social rented homes,’ it adds.

It also points out that the Mayor has received £4.82 billion to deliver 116,000 affordable home starts by March 2022.

This year’s target range for starts is 14,500 to 19,000 but only 2,400 were recorded in the first six months of this year.

‘The Mayor is letting down Londoners, he promised us more affordable housing but so far has fallen very short of his promises, particularly on social housing which is our greatest need,’ said Sian Berry, chair of the Housing Committee.

‘With young and lower income people suffering the most from the housing crisis, we can’t wait much longer for his policies to kick in. The Mayor must fulfil his pledges. It is in his power to ease the housing crisis and meet his targets, especially as he has received new funding,’ she explained.

‘There is now no excuse for genuinely affordable housing to be out of reach for Londoners who want a secure home,’ she added.